Peg-box cover for violins and the like



F. M. ASHLEY.

PEG BOX COVER FOR VIOLINS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24, 1914.

1,336,409. Patented Apr- 13,1920.

I WIT/(E8858 INVE/VTUR B) z A: from/5?? FRANK M. ASHLEY, 0F

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

see-Box, coves, roe vromrrs AND THE LIKE.

S 'ecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Application filed April 24, late. Serial No. 834,053.

The most unsightly part of musical instru 'nents of this characterhas always been the peg box, the inside of which is often rough and unfinished. In many cases, the ends of the strings protrude from the peg box, and thus that portion of the instrument is caused to appear Very ragged and unsightly.

The principal object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means whereby the in side of the peg box may be concealed from view and the appearance of the instrument accordingly improved.

Afurther object is to provide an easily detachable, ornamental cover for the peg box to conceal the stringed portion of the pegs and confine the ends of the strings within the peg box.

The further objects and advantages will more fully. appearfrom the following detailed description, and the features of novelty will be particularly pointed out in the claims. 7

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a peg box and scroll of a stringed musical instrument provided with my novel cover.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a peg box and scroll provided with a modified form of cover in which a cleat is employed to secure for the cover a tight grip upon the peg box.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cover shown in Fig. 2, detached from the instrument.

Fig. 4: is a plan view of a cover similar to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with the exception of the ornamentation, applied to a peg box, and Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view thereof taken along the line 55.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the cover 10 may be made of celluloid, or other material which may be readily bent without cracking to conform with the contour of the peg box 11. At one end of the cover, I

preferably form a recess 12, preferably rectangular and adjacent the other end 1 form a substantially rectangular slot 13 and slit the end of the cover at 14 forming arms 15 and 16. In securing the cover to the peg box, the arms 15, 16 may be pried apart and the strings 17 inserted into the slot 13. The other end of the cover may then be bent downwardly, so that the rectangular recess 12 fits snugly around the forepart of the scroll 20, its transverse edge being wedged in underneath the lower forward portion of the scroll, while the sides 18, 19 of said recess embrace the scroll on both sides thereof. The opening 12 may be made just wide enough to allow its sides 18, 19 to embrace the scroll and be held by friction tightly against it. The cover is thus secured against lateral movement at one end by the sides 18, 19, embracing the scroll, and at the other end by the strings 17, which pass over the arms 15, 16, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. To secure the cover from longitudinal movement, the same may be made long enough to abut the nut 21 of the instrument,

In 2, I have shown a cover which may be made of wood and ornamentation carved out of the material thereof, or glued thereto, as desired. To render the cover made of such materialcapable of being bent to conform with the contour of the peg box, I may make a series of parallel groovesBO on the underside of the cover across the width thereof. Glue may then be applied within the grooves and the cover bent to conform with the shape of the peg box and held there until the glue has become dry and set. The cover will then be permanently of the required contour. In this form, the cover is practically the same in shape as the above described form with the exception that the arm portions 15, 16 are omitted, leaving merely a deep socket 31 having sides 32, 33, between which the strings 17 pass into the peg box. As shown in Fig. 4, the inner edges of the side portions 32 and 83 pass under the outer strings of the instrument, and thus aid in keeping the cover in place. The recess 12 embraces the scroll as in the first form. In order to enable the cover to be more rigidly attached to the peg box. I may fashion a cleat 3-1 out or" the material of the cover on the bottom thereof or glue a separate piece thereto, to

wedge between the walls 35, 36 of the peg box, thus securing the cover rigidly to the latter.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a cover applied to a peg box substantially the same as shown above with the exception that the ornamentation is omitted to more clearly show the location of the cleat 34.

Since peg boxes usually vary slightly in size, the cover and cleat may be made slightly oversize so that they may be trimmed to fit any peg box.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a cover for the peg box of musical instruments, which is very cheap to manufacture and can be fitted to the peg box of any stringed instrument. The cover may be ornamented in any manner desired. The inside of the unsightly peg box is concealed as well as the ends of the strings which would otherwise protrude from the peg box. The appearance of the instrument as a whole is thus greatly enhanced, the crudities of workmanship which formerly were fully exposed to view being entirely concealed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A cover for the peg box of violins and the like having a recess at one end adapted to fit around the forepart and sides of the scroll of the instrument, and a slot at the other end through which the strings may a pass.

.of the peg box.

3. A cover for the peg box of violins and the like having a rectangular recess at one end into which the forepart of the scroll of the instrument fits when the cover is fixed on the peg box, said recess being bounded by two side projections adapted to frictionally engage the two sides of said scroll and a transverse edge adapted to be wedged in underneath the lower portion of the forepart of said scroll, and a slot at the other end through which the strings of the instrument may pass into the peg box and underneath the body of the cover to be there hidden from View.

4. A cover for the peg box of violins and the like comprising a strip of flexible material adapted to be shaped so as to conform to the contour of the peg box and having a slot at one end through which the strings may pass, and means on the other end to engage the peg box beneath the scroll.

5. A cover for the peg box of violins and the like comprising a strip of flexible material adapted to be shaped so as to conform to the contour of the peg box andhaving a recess at one end to fit around the forepart and sides of the scroll of the instrument, and a slot at the other end through which the strings may pass.

6. A removable cover for the peg box of violins and the like comprising a strip of material adapted to conform to the contour of the peg box, said cover having means at one end to engage the scroll and a recess at the other end to allow the strings of the instrument to pass into the peg box and underneath the cover, and means on the bottom of the cover to frictionally engage the side walls of the peg box.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 23rd day of April, A. D. 1914.

FRANK M. ASHLEY.

WVitnesses:

WM. I. COHEN, MINNIE S. MILLER. 

